New social and political conflicts [EPOLB316]

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide theoretical and conceptual tools to analyse the main issues related to social and political conflicts in advanced democratic régimes (nature of conflicts, actors, causes and impacts, internal dynamics, variety of conflicts and evolution from one form to another, etc.).

The students are invited to look at social and political conflicts from a wide range of perspectives : philosophy, sociology, political science. The philosophical approach helps reflecting upon the affinities between conflicts, political modernity and democracy. Political science provides tools to study the most institutionalised forms of conflicts in advanced democracies (cleavages, trade unions, social movements, etc.). A sociological perspective, finally, draws the attention upon the continuity from the less to the most institutionalised form of conflict.

Combined together, those three perspectives will allow students to better understand the major evolutions of conflicts (in their substance and form) in contemporary (democratic) politics.

Objectives

The course pursues the following objectives :

• Provide an overview of the main philosophical theories on the relation between conflict, modernity and democracy ;
• Provide analytical tools in political science and sociology to study concrete social and political conflicts and compare their variations through time and space ;
• Enhance the students’ abilities to read and understand classic texts in philosophy, sociology and political science through oral presentations and in-depth collective discussion

Content

The course is structured around three complementary cycles:

• Cycle 1 : Theories of conflict. Thys cycle focuses on philosophical issues : is conflict (un)avoidable? Positive or negative? How is it related to modern democracy?
• Cycle 2 : Institutionalisation of conflict. This cycle focuses on the various ways through which conflict got institutionalised in modern democracies: cleavages, social bargaining, social movements, etc.
• Cycle 3 : Transformation(s) of conflict. The cycle explores the ways in which conflicts have evolved over the past decades, both in terms of substance and form. It focuses on several dimensions in particular : the impact of EU integration on domestic conflicts, the consequences of digitalisation on political and social conflicts, the “new” social movements and the transformation of cleavage politics (decline or realignment?).